[Originally written January 2011] “Sexy, to me, is the way you carry what you have. I have a big nose, but I rock it.” – Justin Timberlake. Our Multiple Listing System recently started tracking and reporting view counts on RMLS.com, RMLSweb.com, and when a listing is emailed to a buyer. It’s wonderful because now we can see how many online impressions we get versus actual showings. As I am recently single I have perused OKCupid. [Update: That changed in Feb 2012] I have marveled at their Continue reading →

I walked down to the Sellwood Bridge Saturday morning and got some cool shots but realized I wasn’t going to stay there long as it was cold and the bridge is only moving an inch a minute. Might as well watch paint dry. Luckily a project manager came down and was giving an explanation to everyone about how it worked. Enjoy the video and some of the pictures I took. Here’s a timelapse of the Sellwood Bridge move.

New listings are down 4.2%, Pendings are up 17.1% and closed sales are up 19.9%. Prices are up 3.9% on average. At the lower price points it is much more than that. Days on Market dropped from 143 days to 112 this year. Our sales in six out of the last 7 months have been the best in the last 5 years. Everything is showing that somewhere around October 2011 was the bottom of the current real estate market. Assuming that we don’t go off Continue reading →

In the video above the authors of Freakonomics talk about Realtors and how they are not incentivized to get the best price for your home. A $10,000 reduction in sales price is only a few hundred dollars reduction in commission. First, are there agents like this? Absolutely. I also know of agents who won’t show a home if their cut of the commission isn’t big enough. I don’t think they tell their clients though. Are there economists that make erroneous claims or write harsh, misleading chapter titles Continue reading →

(Excuse the distracted talking. I was watching for my clients.) Over the years I have heard agents brag that they never show more than 10 homes to a client. I always sat in disbelief that they would think like this. In my nine years in real estate it has never occurred to me to do that not even when times were lean. A few of the agents have said that they are so good at getting from the client what they want that it is Continue reading →

This is a repost from 2007. About 4 years ago I was setting up showings for a client. It was about 4 days before Halloween and nasty weather. There was one house that was owner occupied but it said to call the Listing Agent. That almost always means there is some problem with something. I got him on the line and asked what was up with the property. He said that two sisters lived there and one would be out of the house but Continue reading →

I was at a restaurant years ago and asked if they Coke. The waitress said yes and came back with RC. I didn’t used to hate it, I just disliked the taste. Now I hate it because restaurants try to pawn it off as Pepsi or Coke and I have to ask more specifically to make sure they are giving me what I am really asking for. If the waitress lied to me I have to guess that it gets by people often enough Continue reading →